German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Lesotho on Saturday for the final stop of his four-day trip to Africa, where he met Lesotho’s King Letsie III in the small mountainous country.
“I am honored to be the first German president to visit your beautiful country,” Steinmeier wrote in the guestbook at the king’s royal palace in the capital Maseru.
The country is located entirely in South Africa. The monarch invited Steinmeier to visit when they met in Berlin last year.
Steinmeier’s visit to Lesotho follows discussions in South Africa with President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday.
Steinmeier had to change planes for the trip to the kingdom because the airport in Maseru is too small to accommodate his normal German government Airbus A350 aircraft.
The German president was driven from the airport to the royal palace, where he was served coffee and tea during a meeting with the king, who warmly welcomed Steinmeier.
Steinmeier noted the country’s deep poverty during his one-day visit and emphasized the importance of development assistance, such as a water management project involving Germany.
“Anyone who looks around here will see how necessary it is for us to take care of this country,” Steinmeier said.
Since gaining independence from Britain in 1966, Lesotho has suffered from political instability. The unemployment rate is over 30%, and among young people it is even higher.
Justice, public services and security services suffer from corruption and abuse of power, with crucial reforms systematically undermined by political elites, analysts say.
Many villages remain accessible only on foot or on horseback.
The country is highly dependent on its large neighbor South Africa and due to limited employment opportunities, many residents have been seeking work in South Africa for decades, especially in mining.
Lesotho’s economy is mainly dependent on agriculture and the export of textiles, diamonds and water.
Steinmeier spent three days visiting Nigeria and South Africa, the regional economic heavyweights in southern Africa. Lesotho, on the other hand, is only a very small trading partner of Germany and has very few natural resources.
However, he noted that Germany and Lesotho are politically closer on some issues than powers in the region such as South Africa: “For example, Lesotho has condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine from the start.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attends a wreath laying ceremony at the monument to Moshoeshoe I. Steinmeier visits Nigeria, South Africa and Lesotho during his four-day trip to Africa. Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier signs the guestbook at the Royal Palace of King Letsie III of Lesotho. Steinmeier visits Nigeria, South Africa and Lesotho during his four-day trip to Africa. Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
